Abbas says no Palestinian state without Gaza

RAMALLAH, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, also chairman of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, on Monday night said that there will be no Palestinian state without Gaza.

Abbas' remarks were made in a speech he addressed at the opening ceremony of the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the PLO parliament in exile.

The meeting convenes, first time since 2009, in the West Bank city of Ramallah for four days to discuss the Palestinian ties with Israel and the United States, as well as the internal Palestinian situation.

Abbas started his speech with saying there would be "no peace without Jerusalem, capital of the Palestinian state," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration made on Dec. 6, 2017 that Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel.

Speaker of the parliament Salim Zanoun opened the first session with playing the Palestinian national anthem and hailing the spirit of Palestinians killed in the conflict with Israel.

President Abbas, who attended the opening session, is to address the council with a speech aired on Palestine Satellite Television.

Zanoun noted that one of the National Council's proposals will be to hold general elections for a parliament and president of the State of Palestine. Enditem